Homes’ future hangs on negotiations with landlords

While 23 care homes operated by Highfield Group Ltd have been placed in administration, parent company Highfield Holdings says none of the homes concerned are owned by NHP. A report in a national newspaper in May had suggested the embattled homes were owned by the sale and leaseback giant. Highfield Holdings managing director Martin Joyce has told _Caring Times_ that, while a number other care homes are operated by Highfield Holdings through other subsidiaries as tenants of NHP, ring-fencing arrangements meant the homes now in administration had no bearing upon other care homes leased from NHP by Highfield Holdings. “Eighteen of the 23 homes are leased and were purchased from Vaux in 1997 as part of a larger deal,” Mr Joyce said. “Highfield Group Ltd inherited the leases from Vaux and the aim was to turn the homes round. “Unfortunately, the specific details relating to the lease agreements, and the trading conditions in the healthcare industry, have together made such a turn round impossible. To maintain the